Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1535219
CALENDAR May 2025 May 6: National Teacher Day National Teacher Day is on Tuesday of National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 5–9, nea.org/TAW). California, however, recognizes California Day of the Teacher on the second Wednesday of May, which is May 14 in 2025. The special day rose out of legislation co-sponsored by our union and the Association of Mexican American Educators in 1982. See the fold-out poster celebrating California educators, ESPs and school nurses at the back of this issue. JUNE 2: Alice Piper Day Alice Piper was a 15-year-old Pauite girl living in Big Pine, Inyo County, who was denied entry to Big Pine High School in 1923 due to her race. (State law then prohibited Native Americans from attending a public school if a gov- ernment-run "Indian" school was within three miles.) Piper and six other Native American children sued the district for the right to attend. On June 2, 1924, the California Supreme Court unani- mously ruled in her favor in Piper v. Big Pine, thus opening the door for Native Americans to attend California public schools. The case was cited as prece- dent in Mendez v. Westminster (1947) and later influenced the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Read details and view a tribute video at the website of the California Museum, where Piper was a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee. T H E M O N T H I S F O R raising awareness about the significance of communication and the challenges faced by individuals with speech, language and hearing disorders. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders states that roughly one in 12 children aged 3 to 17 experienced voice, speech, language or swallowing issues in the last year. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Assn. (ASHA) reports that more than 1 million children nationwide receive school-based treatment for speech and language disorders annually. The month is also a time to celebrate the work of school speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Educators can find relevant resources at nidcd.nih.gov/health/educators-and-students and asha.org. (SLPs: Has a state policy change impacted your work? See page 38.) Alice Piper National Speech, Language and Hearing Month May: 7 M AY 2 0 2 5 In the Know